Oops
by thewrote
Summary: Dialogue prompt: Shakarian / "Ignore me, I didn't see anything."


The familiar sounds of battle rang around them. A popping ricochet of bullets. Grunts and screams as Cerberus agents tumbled to the ground. Boots and armor scuffing across the greasy cement floor.

"Commander, on your left!"

Shepard spun, following the voice blindly, an instinct honed after many battles fought side by side. She led with the butt of her rifle, the crunch of cartilage stopping her would be attacker short.

A bullet whistled by her ear from behind. The agent took a step back, tripped over a container, and crashed through a teetering stack of boxes.

"That never gets old," Garrus said over the commlink. "Nothing beats a warehouse fight."

"That was mine!" She turned, trying to find where he was hidden. All she could see were crates. Crates and boxes, and more crates.

"All clear!" The same voice that had directed Shepard in battle now gave the stand down call. She could see Ashley moving through the maze of crates that occupied most of the warehouse, the shining dome of her helmet just visible over the tallest column.

"Let's get out of here," she snapped. She kicked over a box at knee level on her way out. Frustration was bubbling up, threatening to spill out now that she didn't have a fight to keep her occupied. There was a familiar tenderness riding on the wave of her bitterness, chafing beneath her chest plate. It wouldn't be long until she needed to throw up.

She was on a military schedule, timely and predictable. Even when she needed to be sick.

" _Someone_ needs a nap."

"Excuse me?" She didn't need this right now, but she couldn't stop herself from rising to the goad. A joke - that _tone -_ was what she didn't need right now.

Garrus laughed, his eyes rolling between Ashley and Shepard. The stack of crates had thinned out in the hallway, the space wide and clear, and the three were walking side by side. Ashley cleared her throat and walked a few paces away from the couple, her pace brisk.

"It was a joke. Hey, hey, _stop_." She heard his talon scrap against the armor at her elbow, his hand wrapping around her bicep to pull her to a stop. Oh no, _that_ tone was worse. It meant she was getting a lecture. "You were sloppy out there."

"Ex-excuse me?" she sputtered. She tried to keep walking but she became flustered, tripping over her own feet. The temperature was rising, but she was confident that it was local to her suit only. Sweat beaded along her upper lip. "I am anything but sloppy."

"Normally," Garrus agreed. He kept her arm's length away, aware of their audience, but his grim expression told her that he wasn't waiting until they were back on the ship to say what was on his mind. He flipped open the latches that connected her helmet to her suit.

"We can keep that on - " she attempted, but he ignored her, lifting her helmet.

The smell hit her hard, warm and metallic. Reeling away, she made it the edge of the hallway before she lost her lunch.

"Shepard!" Ashley darted across the room, her own helmet removed, dark eyes focused. "What's the matter?"

"Stay back!" Garrus warned, his arm coming across Ashley's chest. "What if it's contagious?"

"You think?" Ashley looked horrified.

"No, no, it's not - " Shepard raised a hand to try and talk away their worry, but another whiff from the bodies left her heaving.

"Your face is very shiny, Shepard." Garrus looked between the two women, his mouth open, mandibles flaring.

"Do you think it's a toxin?" Ashley mused. The thought seemed plausible enough that she put her helmet back on. When she spoke again her voice was loud, charged with static, coming from the speaker and not over their private channel. "I'll radio the ship. We'll need this whole area quarantined - "

"Ashley, that's ridiculous." Shepard tried again. She braced her elbows on her knees, gazing up at the two with a poisonous glare. She was summarily ignored.

"I'll inform Dr. Chakwas to prep - "

"I'm pregnant!"

That got their attention. Ashley's arm dropped, her radio orders forgotten, her cheeks flushed with color. She risked it, her eyes darting to sneak a peek at Shepard's stomach before she smirked over at Garrus.

Garrus took a step forward, then a step back. "What did you say?"

"I'm going to go over here," Ashley announced, pointing over her shoulder. "I'm just going to… yeah, I'm going to be over here."

Shepard glared at the both of them, her brow furrowed in a cross hatch pattern. "Toxins? Are you kidding me?"

Garrus pressed a hand against his chest and pointed with his other at Shepard, gesturing mutely between the two of them.

"Oh." Shepard trembled, her arm reaching for something to steady herself. Another wave of nausea crippled her and she rested her lower half against the wall as she bent towards the ground.

"What did you say?" he repeated.

"Let's not have this conversation here," she begged. "I really need to brush my teeth."

"Let me see."

"What?" She laughed and shook her head once. "Garrus, there's nothing for you to see."

"Let me see your stomach."

"Garrus, no." He strode towards her, arms coming out to trap her, hands pressed flat to the wall on either side of her shoulders. "There's nothing there."

He continued, one hand finding the release points on her armor. He stripped away one arm at a time, the pieces falling to their feet.

Shepard looked over his shoulder at Ashley, her eyes wide and their cheeks the same shade of red.

"Ignore me," Ashley said, one hand raised in the air, the other over her eyes. "I didn't see anything."

She squirmed as his fingers dug in the space between her chest and back plate, the armor peeling away from her sweat drenched under armor.

"There's a baby in here." Garrus lowered himself to his knees, his hands resting lightly on her hips.

"I think that's how it works, yes," she replied dryly. She cupped the back of his head and tried to remain stern as she gazed down at him.

He pressed his face tentatively against the rough fabric of her shirt, his cheek sliding over the curve of her stomach. The tension in her joints loosened, and she let herself relax against the wall. She felt his fingers dig into her hips, slowly kneading around to her back as he kept his face close to her skin. His eyes were squeezed shut and his mouth was open, like he was listening for something.

"Ashley," he said, rising swiftly and scooping Shepard up. "Radio a pick up and make sure to let everyone know that we're having a baby."

" _We_?" the two women repeated, Shepard's tone slightly more acidic than Ashley's bemused one.

"I'm having a baby!" he whooped.


End file.
